Tebow admits pressure comes with image

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Tim Tebow laughed at the question. After all, it was probably inappropriate for a reporter to ask him if he was a virgin during the Southeastern Conference media conference last year.

But, Tebow answered. Yes, he's saving himself for marriage.

"It wasn't something I was embarrassed about or shied away from at all," Tebow, the Broncos rookie quarterback, said this spring. "It was just something that was the truth. I've never been ashamed of who I am or what I represent or why."

Temptations? Tebow had "quite a bit." All college students do, and Tebow was one of the most popular college players ever. There is plenty of proof on the Internet that many Florida coeds liked Tebow -- or at least enjoyed getting their pictures taken with him.

Tebow pointed out his well-documented faith didn't help him avoid temptations, although he wouldn't reveal any details. But he said his upbringing did help him be ready to deal with the choices that come with being a high-profile athlete.

"There's always going to be temptation," Tebow said. "It's how you prepare yourself and how you handle yourself before you get to temptation is how you deal with it. If you know the choices you're going to make, how you'll make them, and already knowing the challenges beforehand, that goes into dealing with temptation. If you haven't thought about it and don't know the obstacles that are coming when they hit you, maybe you'll give into temptation and do things you know you shouldn't."

Because of his image, which anyone associated with Tebow says is not manufactured in the slightest, he faces rare pressure to not slip up. The clean life Tebow has led -- during an interview with ESPN.com he referred to himself simply and proudly as an "MK," or, "missionary kid" -- is undoubtedly part of his appeal. He has his own shoe from Nike, he's on the cover of a video game and said he has turned down other endorsements. He is one of the greatest college players, but that alone doesn't account for his popularity. He has a following of fans who agree with his religious views. Others simply like the idea of a polite, hard-working and innocent superstar athlete.

There are also plenty of cynics who don't believe he can be as wholesome as his image, and want to pounce if he slips up.

"People will look for any little mistake," said Sam Wyche, a former NFL coach who worked with Tebow this offseason and shares Tebow's Christian faith. "He'll have to keep his guard up. But he's such a solid guy. He's a different kind of a young 20s-year-old."

Many athletes are placed on a pedestal because of their talent, but Tebow gives hope to some that he is a true role model. That's a lot to ask for someone who didn't turn 23 until Saturday. But it's important to him.

"One of the biggest things for me is being a role model and being someone that parents can tell their kids to look up to and kids want to look up to," Tebow said. "Unfortunately today there's a lot of role models, there just aren't that many good ones. My goal is to be one of those good role models, someone who not always does everything right but is always trying."

He said he resisted peer pressure in college by thinking about the big picture in life. He thought about who he represented and what he wanted his reputation to be. He said thinking about more than the here and now helped him stay out of trouble.

Tebow admits there is pressure to live up to his image in the NFL. Any mistake will be magnified -- and being a pro athlete includes a wide array of options to get in trouble.

"There's going to be a lot of eyes and a lot of people saying 'I can't wait until you screw up and do this,' but just trying to stay focused and do my best," Tebow said.